Electrical connectors which electrically connect mutually facing circuit boards have been widely used in the past. An electrical connector of this type is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 55-37787 in which through-holes are formed inside an insulating housing, and contacts which are bent in a multiple number of places in order to endow the contacts with spring properties, are passed through the through-holes in the insulating housing and fastened in place. Another connector of this type is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-43279 in which contact retaining ribs are formed inside an insulating housing, and contacts with spring properties are retained therein by these ribs.
The contacts used in the conventional electrical connectors described above are formed by punching metal plates into predetermined shapes prior to the installation of the contacts in the insulating housing. These contacts have complicated shapes in order to endow the contacts with spring properties; accordingly, the work involved in manufacturing the contacts and the work required in order to install the manufactured contacts within the insulating housing are also complicated. As a result, the manufacturing process used to manufacture such electrical connectors is relatively complicated. Furthermore, in the manufacture of the contacts, the portions of the punched metal plates that do not form portions of the contacts are discarded. As a result, the utilization of materials is inefficient, and a corresponding increase in the cost takes place. In addition, the positions of engagement between the contacts and the circuit boards may be skewed, so that the orientation of the electrical connector mounted on the circuit boards is not correct, thus leading to the electrical connector providing improper connections between the contacts and the conductive pads on the circuit boards.